BJP Names 8 Fresh Faces for UP Rajya Sabha Polls
Party drops all its sitting nominees and fields new faces ahead of the October 16 biennial elections
- BJP announces eight candidates for UP Rajya Sabha polls.
- Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha among key nominees.
- Hardeep Puri and B.L. Verma not renominated.
- Polling for 10 UP seats scheduled on October 16.
GG News Bureau
Lucknow, 6th Oct: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday announced eight candidates from Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha, choosing a mix of state-level leaders, organisational functionaries and former legislators. The candidates are Dharampal Singh, Radhakant Ojha, Prakash Pal, Vidyasagar Sonkar, Gopi Krishna Pandey, Priyanka Singh Rawat, Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan and Shruti Gangwar.
The announcement came a day before the deadline for filing nominations. Elections to 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh are scheduled for October 16. The BJP’s Central Election Committee approved the list on Monday.
The BJP’s list includes representation from OBC and Scheduled Caste communities as well as Brahmin and Rajput groups. Three nominees are from OBC communities, two are Dalits, while the remaining three are from upper-caste communities, including two Brahmins and a Rajput. Two of the eight candidates are women.
Dharampal Singh, Prakash Pal and Shruti Gangwar among OBC nominees
Dharampal Singh, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government, is among the BJP’s nominees. He is a five-time MLA from Aonla and belongs to the Lodh community. Prakash Pal, who heads the BJP’s Uttar Pradesh Backward Classes Morcha, has also been named.
Shruti Gangwar, who belongs to the Kurmi community and is associated with the Rohilkhand region, is the second woman among the BJP’s nominees. Her selection adds another OBC representation to the list.
Two SC candidates and two Brahmin nominees
Former Lok Sabha MP Vidyasagar Sonkar, who belongs to the Khatik community and has held organisational responsibilities in the BJP, has been nominated for the Upper House.
Priyanka Singh Rawat, a former Lok Sabha MP from Barabanki and a member of the Pasi community, is the other Scheduled Caste candidate and the second woman on the list.
Among the Brahmin nominees are Radhakant Ojha, a senior advocate and former president of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, and Gopi Krishna Pandey, a senior BJP functionary.
Ram Pratap Singh Chauhan, another organisational leader, is also among the eight nominees. The selection brings several relatively prominent state-level organisational faces into consideration for the Rajya Sabha.
Hardeep Puri, BL Verma not renominated
A significant feature of the BJP’s announcement is that Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Union Minister of State B.L. Verma have not been renominated from Uttar Pradesh. Other outgoing BJP Rajya Sabha members whose terms are ending also do not figure in the new list.
The change means the BJP has opted for an entirely new set of nominees from Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming biennial contest. The decision also comes ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with reports noting the list’s social and regional spread.
BJP, SP prepare for October 16 contest
The BJP’s announcement comes after the Samajwadi Party named Ram Gopal Yadav and Dhanraj Nathwani as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections. The SP has indicated that it may field a third candidate, which could make polling necessary for the seats.
With 10 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh falling vacant, the strength of different parties in the state Assembly will be a key factor in determining the outcome. Polling is scheduled for October 16, with nominations to be filed by the following day’s deadline.
The BJP’s eight-candidate list thus marks a substantial change in its Rajya Sabha representation from Uttar Pradesh, replacing the outgoing set with candidates drawn largely from the party’s state organisation, social groups and regional leadership.
